ORLANDO – The Knights (12-6, 4-4 AAC) are back at Addition Financial Arena this weekend as the team welcome No. 7 Houston (17-2, 6-0 AAC) to town on Saturday, Jan. 28 for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off, presented by Orlando Health.
The Knights are hosting a block party ahead of the game. Fans are welcome to come out and join in on the fun from 5–7:30 p.m. at East Plaza Drive. More information on the block party can be found by clicking here.
The game will air live on ESPN2, with Marc Daniels also on the call on FM 96.9 The Game.
It hasn't been long since UCF took down a top-10 ranked Houston team as the Knights defeated then No. 6 Houston, 67-62, on March 2, 2019. The win marked UCF's second highest ranked victory in program history, trailing only 2011's win over then No. 4 UConn (68-63).
Winners of 13 of their last 14, the Cougars' game against UCF marks their first since Jan. 22, when Houston defeated ECU, 79-36. Houston limited the Pirates to only eight field goals and 1-of-19 3-point shooting while holding ECU to the third-fewest points scored in The American history.
With junior guard Marcus Sasser sidelined due to injury, senior guard Kyler Edwards paces the Cougars with 14.4 points per game and has been solid on the boards with 5.9 rebounds per contest. Edwards is the reigning AAC Player of the Week after picking up the award in back-to-back weeks.
Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson is in his eighth season at the helm of the Cougars. He has enjoyed a 184-66 record as their head coach and is looking to get his team back into the NCAA Final Four for the second straight year.
Saturday will mark the first of two games this season between UCF and Houston, with the Knights scheduled to travel to Texas on Feb. 17.
Game Information
Date: Saturday, Jan. 29
Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN2
Radio: FM 96.9 The Game
UCF vs RANKED TEAMS
- UCF's game against No. 7 Houston on Saturday marks the Knights' second against a ranked team ths season as they lost at then No. 21 Auburn on Dec. 1.
- The Knights are 8-49 all-time against ranked opponents but 5-16 under Dawkins.
- UCF has two wins in program history over Top 10 teams in No. 4 UConn (68-63, 11/25/11) and No. 6 Houston (67-62, 3/2/19).
- The highest ranked win UCF has at home was against then No. 15 Cincinnati on Feb. 26, 2017 (53-49).
- Last season, the Knights took down then No. 15 Florida State, 86-74, in Tallahassee.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
- UCF freshman point guard Darius Johnson picked up his first career American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Week award on Jan. 24.
- The honor came after Johnson averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists to help lead UCF to comeback wins at ECU and versus Tulane.
- Johnson posted 16 points and four rebounds at ECU on Jan. 18 and followed it up with a career-high 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Tulane on Jan. 22.
- Johnson is now second on the team with 36 total assists on the season. He's shooting 35.5 percent from the field and he's tied for fifth on the squad with 12 steals.
- He's averaging 13 points per game over his last five games, compared to a career-average of 5.4.
- In 2020-21, Isaiah Adams was named AAC Freshman of the Week three times.
MONEY AT THE LINE
- As a team, UCF has knocked down 74.7 percent of its free throw opportunities through 18 games, which is third in the conference and 61st in the nation as of Jan. 24.
- The Knights' current single-season record for highest field goal percentage is 76.1 percent (1975-76).
- Before missing his first free throw of the year in the win over Michigan, fifth year senior Brandon Mahan had not missed a free throw dating back to 02/01/21 at Memphis (last 20 games).
- Mahan was a perfect 48-for-48 in free throw attempts over that stretch.
- Five Knights are shooting 75.0 percent or better from the line as of Jan. 28 (min. 15 attempts).
DAWKINS ERA AT UCF
- Johnny Dawkins picked up career win No. 100 in the Knights' win over N.C. A&T on Dec. 11, becoming just the third coach in UCF history to reach the milestone.
- Dawkins is 106-66 since starting with the Knights in 2016, a win percentage of .619, the second best of any UCF coach (Torchy Clark, .754 from 1969-83).
- He has the third most wins over any UCF coach, trailing only Clark's 274 and Kirk Speraw's 247 from 1993-2010.
- Dawkins is the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history in the Division I era, needing only 162 games to do so.
- Dawkins had his squad off to a 4-0 start to begin the 2021-22 season, tying his 2017-18 mark for his best start to a season at UCF.
- Dawkins has led UCF to its first NIT Final Four (2017), first at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament (2019) and first NCAA Tournament win (2019).
- Prior to Dawkins' arrival at UCF, the program had won three games against ranked opponents from 1984-2016. Since Dawkins has taken over, the Knights have won five games against ranked opponents.
- UCF had never won two games against ranked teams in a single season, and the Knights did it in a span of five days, taking down No. 6 Houston and No. 19 Cincinnati late in the 2018-19 season.
- UCF is now 8-50 all-time against ranked opponents, but 5-16 against ranked teams under Dawkins.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Gameday app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.